Understanding and Improving

Customer Focus
How customer focus can help sustain and grow your organisation

Module 1: Introduction to Customer Focus

Last updated: December 2013

For more information and details on support

available visit the clearinghouse website at
www.communitydoor.org.au/SectorReadiness
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Understanding and Improving Customer Focus: Program Overview

How do we market How do we build a How do we ensure

our services more sustainable business we’re delivering the
effectively? in a time of significant services our
industry change? customers need?

How do we How do we help

ensure our customers customers choose the
are satisfied? right provider for them?

These are just some of the questions posed by disability service providers as the National Disability
Insurance Scheme (NDIS), one of the most significant social changes in recent Australian history, is
introduced. For people with permanent and significant disability, their families and carers, the NDIS
provides greater choice over the care and services they receive, and shifts purchasing power from the
government to consumers.

For disability providers, the NDIS will result in a move to a competitive open market. Providers will need to
market their services and work hard to attract and retain clients. They will need to carefully balance the
achievement of missional objectives, whilst ensuring the sustainability of their business.

Disability providers are being supported to make this shift via a series of modules on Understanding and
Improving Customer Focus as part of the Sector Readiness and Workforce Capacity Initiative. These
modules will help providers gain insight into their clients’ needs and ensure that all aspects of the business
(e.g. strategy, marketing, customer service, human resources, finance and operations) are aligned to
deliver on this.

The program includes the following four modules:

Module Description Delivery

1 - Introduction to Introduction and overview of the importance of December 2013
Customer Focus customer focus in a competitive market environment
2 - Customer Focus Self- Understanding the current extent of customer focus in December 2013
Assessment your organisation
3 - Understanding Your Gathering deep insights into your customers, their February 2013
Customers needs and drivers
4 - Developing Strategies Practical steps to help your organisation become March 2013
to Build a Customer- customer-focused
Focused Organisation

This information is confidential and was prepared by 3rdView Consulting

solely for the use of NDS and Disability Service Providers.
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Module 1:
Introduction to Customer Focus
Module Objective
This module is designed to introduce disability service providers to the concept of customer focus. At the
completion of the module, participants will be able to:

• Describe the concept of customer focus

• Identify their organisation’s different customer groups
• Outline why customer focus is important to the disability sector
• Identify the four elements that define a customer-focused organisation
• Outline how to become a more customer-focused organisation

Introduction to Customer Focus

“The single most important thing to remember about any enterprise is that there are no results
inside its walls. The result of a business is a satisfied customer.” Peter Drucker

The concept of ‘Customer Focus’ has been gaining prominence in recent years as organisations realise
the importance of concentrating on customers. For truly customer-focused organisations, every business
activity is informed by customer needs and is designed to improve the customer experience.

Customer focus is a key source of sustainable competitive advantage for organisations. Customer-
focused organisations understand their customers, and align their strategies, systems and people to
deliver on customer needs. Customer focus improves the effectiveness of marketing and service
activities, which will be essential in the new, competitive NDIS landscape.

What is customer Customer focus is an approach to achieving organisational success by

focus? aligning systems, processes and activities around a common purpose – the
customer. Organisations can choose to focus on a range of things –
manufacturing efficiency, internal processes, new product development.
These things are important, however only customer focus ensures that the
organisation is delivering to the changing needs of those people that will
keep them in business.

Customer focus is different to customer service. Customer service relates to

the interactions between frontline personnel and customers. Customer
focus relates to the alignment of the organisation’s vision, strategy, people,
processes and systems, to deliver on identified customer needs. While
customer service is the role of a team or department, customer focus
involves everyone in the organisation.

This information is confidential and was prepared by 3rdView Consulting

solely for the use of NDS and Disability Service Providers.
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Who is the customer? The word ‘customer’ generally refers to the purchaser or user of the
organisation’s products and services. However, by taking a broader
perspective on the concept of ‘customer’, systems and processes can be
designed to effectively engage all stakeholders.

An organisation’s customer groups may include:

• Users, clients or participants
• Decision-makers (e.g. family members, carers and other influencers)
• Purchasers
• Funders
• Referrers
• Staff, who are internal customers.

While successful organisations identify and design services for their primary
customer, they also don’t lose sight of the importance of other key
stakeholders who engage with them.

What defines a It is critical that customer-focused organisations have a clear vision and
customer-focused strategy that has been informed by customer needs. From this foundation,
organisation? every aspect of the organisation can be aligned to deliver on that vision and
strategy, including the core elements of business leadership, customer
experience and employee experience. These elements are inter-related
as shown by the diagram below:

Business)
Leadership)

Strategy,)
Vision)&)
Brand)

Customers) Employees)

Diagram 1: Four Elements of a Customer-focused organisation

This information is confidential and was prepared by 3rdView Consulting

solely for the use of NDS and Disability Service Providers.
 Page |5

Why is customer focus The disability sector in Australia is currently undergoing a major
important to the philosophical shift towards the user of services, and their supporters, having
disability sector? a choice of
• Who will provide the services (which provider)
• In what setting (home, in the community, or elsewhere)
• How funds are allocated and distributed (through one provider,
through many, or self-managed)

As a result, customers and their supporters will have more choices available.
They will spend more time evaluating the customer experiences they receive
from providers in the sector.

Successful and sustainable organisations will be those that have identified

the unique needs of their customers, and have aligned all parts of their
business to deliver a consistent customer experience. Customer insights will
inform their approach to marketing, customer service, HR, finance and
operations.

How to become a To become customer-focused, organisations will need to

customer-focused • Understand who their customers are, and seek to generate deep
organisation? insights into their needs and drivers
• Align their business strategy, systems and people to deliver on those
needs
• Continue to engage with customers over time to inform continuous
improvement efforts

The Understanding and Improving Customer Focus modules developed as

part of the Sector Readiness and Workforce Capacity Initiative give disability
service providers a step-by-step guide to reflect on their current level of
customer focus, understand their customers better, and design a tailored
program to improve customer focus in their organisation.

The modules include:

Module 1 - Introduction (this module)
Module 2 - Customer Focus Self-Assessment
Module 3 - Understanding Our Customers
Module 4 - Developing Strategies to Build a Customer-Focused Organisation

Next Steps
After reviewing this introductory module, it is recommended that you discuss the need to improve
customer focus with your Board and Senior Management team, and gain their commitment to the
implementation of customer focus. This will provide the necessary context to position and complete
Module 2 – Customer Focus Self-Assessment.

This information is confidential and was prepared by 3rdView Consulting

solely for the use of NDS and Disability Service Providers.
User Feedback
A module on improving customer focus would not be complete without a request for feedback from users!

We are keen to hear from disability service providers on:

• How you have used this information
• Any suggestions for improvement on this, or subsequent modules
3rdView Consulting are also happy to discuss options to guide you and your organisation through the
Customer Focus Self-Assessment (Module 2).

Feedback, or requests to discuss the information contained herein, can be sent to 3rdView Consulting at
info@3rdview.com.au.

For   more   information   and   resources, visit the Sector Readiness and Workforce Capacity Initiative
Clearinghouse: http://Communitydoor.org.au/SectorReadiness

The Sector Readiness and Workforce Capacity Initiative is a collaboration between the Department of
Communities, Child Safety and Disability Services, Health and Community Services Workforce Council,
National Disability Services Queensland and the Southern Queensland Institute of TAFE.

This resource has been developed by 3rdView Consulting Pty Ltd in consultation with National Disability
Services Queensland.